On the 14th, Henry Hillbrant, one of the pirates, gave information that Christian had declared to him the evening before he left Otaheite that he intended to go with the _Bounty_ to an uninhabited island discovered by Mr. Byron, situated to the Westward of the Isles of Danger, which, from description of the situation, I found to be the island called by Mr. Byron "The Duke of York's Island,"[40-1] and if they could land, would settle there and run the ship upon the reef and destroy her, and if they could not land, or if on examination found it would not answer their purpose, he would look out for some other uninhabited island. However, I continued my course for Why-to-tackee, being now determined to examine the island in preference to following any intelligence, however plausible, and on the morning of the 19th saw the Island of Why-to-tackee [Aitutaki],[40-2] and sent the tender in shore to ground and look out for a harbour. At noon sent Lt. Hayward in the yawl to look into a place on the N.W. part of the island that had the appearance of a harbour and to get intelligence of the natives. In the evening he returned. The place was so far from being fit for the reception of the ship that he could scarcely find a passage through the reef for the boat; he conversed with seven or eight different sets of people, whom he met with in canoes, and they all agreed that the _Bounty_ was not, nor had not been there since Lt. Bligh left the island, nor did any of them known anything of her. Lt. Hayward recollected one of the natives, whom he remembered to have seen on board the _Bounty_ when he discovered the island, and he saw another savage belonging to a neighbouring island who knew Captain Cook and inquired after him, Omai and Oediddee, whom he said he had seen.